What would life be without homegrown tomatoes?

We are at the end of the third week of back at school and I am crumbling under the weight of Sam's homework!  I was talking to a close friend, Karen, about it the other day as her daughter is in Sam's class.  I will be honest and 'fess up to having a real whinge about it, complaining that it was just too much to keep up, he's only 7 years old for goodness sake and whatever happened to having a childhood???!!!  Karen agreed with me, and added " and we're at home full time, can you imagine trying to keep up with it all if you also worked outside the home?".

I've been musing on it since, thinking about all the pressures, wondering if they are external pressures or if all my pressures come from within.  There is so much to keep on top of!  The house needs to be kept clean and tidy - such an innocent statement!  But my god the amount of work; manual, tedious, relentless work that it entails.  Floors; swept, washed, hoovered.  Surfaces; dusted, decluttered.  Toilets; brushed, bleached, wiped.  Baths and sinks; scrubbed, washed.  Cobwebs banished.  Ovens degreased.  Walls and doors washed.  Clothes scooped  up, washed, hung up, brought back in, folded, ironed, returned to wardrobes.  Beds made, toys picked up.  Oh and the garden, don't forget the garden!  Even if it is only postage sized, it still needs weeding and planting (cat poo picking up), mowing and pruning - tending!  And food - not just any old food of course, something that appeals to all different tastes and preferences (but remains healthy), recipes found, ingredients shopped for (even better, grow your own!), bought home, put away, chopped up, sliced, diced, boiled, mashed, roasted, baked , sauteed and placed on plates (only to be dismissed without even being tasted).  Plates and pots scraped and rinsed and put in dishwasher, cookers cleaned, work benches decrumbed and antibacced.  Keeping your marriage happy and hopeful, spending time together away from the kids.  Having family time.  Making sure you keep some time for yourself - a happy parent is a good parent!  Children washed, dressed, teeth brushed, hair combed, bottom's wiped, manners and respect taught.  Junk food, telly and computer games discouraged.  5 a day of your fruit and vegetables, love of books, daily sport and outdoor play encouraged.  Homework!!!  Every week a spelling test, numeracy homework, school reading book, your own book, handwriting practice, times table practice, mini project and anything extra you would like to do....

I look at that list and think, is it any wonder I am anxious ALL of the time?  Worried that I am not doing it well enough, fast enough, thoroughly enough... Being a housewife is my job.  As thankless a job as it is, with a devastating lack of appreciation, it is what I chose to do when I decided to have children.  Reasoning that it is my job to raise my children, and if we are in the financial position where I don't have to work outside the home, then it is my moral duty to be the one who does all of these things for my children.  Nobody has as much invested in our two boys reaching their potential as Steve and I, and therefor nobody is going to work as hard at helping them achieve that potential, as us. 

And so that is why I do it.  That is why I do it as well as I possibly can.  That is why my standards are so high.  That is why "good enough" is not good enough.  That is why I am so knackered, stressed and worried all the time.  So these pressures are internal I guess.  Do I just keep wading on through it all, or does something have to give?  And if something has to give, which thing would it be?